Mid Year Reality Check & Long Rides

I lifted the expression "reality check" from Mark -- it's one that he uses in a range of situations. We could get into a discussion on the definition of reality but I'll save that for a later date. The two usages that I recall from Mark are: (a) making sure our race selection matches our life situation; and (b) pausing to consider things. I'm not going to talk about either of these today but I thought that I'd cite the source of my title!

I'm typing on Monica's computer right now. I've placed my machine on "break" for the weekend to free my mind to get through a challenging two days of training (six to seven hours of SBR each day this weekend).

I was out with the "lads" yesterday and they gave me exactly what I was looking for. I'd set my heart rate monitor to beep at 149 bpm -- I find that the alarm going off makes it easier for me to stick with my pre-defined workout. Just like the first day of an Epic Camp, I was out the back pretty consistently the entire workout. The longest that I lasted with the group was 35 minutes worth of uphill big gear work in the first 90 minutes.

Mark and I worked out an "Ironman Canada" simulation route that's designed to lift the elements of bike fitness that are required for Penticton success. It will be interesting to see how my fitness develops across the summer -- the Lads are very fit right now and provide clear benchmarks.

In 2004, my strong training buddies helped bring me to a whole new level of performance. Hopefully, we'll do that again.

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Whether we are talking about weight loss, financial health, race fitness, or education -- we all overestimate what we can achieve in the short-term and underestimate what we can achieve in the long-term.

For the topics that matter to me (my Top Ten list), I've found that six months is a good period of time to see some progress. I check my personal business plan quarterly but I don't always see much progress -- even across 13 weeks. On my trip to Scotland last month, I reviewed my personal business plan. The last serious revision was eight months ago. While the components of my life strategy change over time -- the core elements have been stable for years.

When we look back across a longer period of time, we can consider the feedback that we have received on each item.

Many wonder about the right path to choose, the correct decision to make, whether it is "all worthwhile", and if we are getting anywhere at all. When I am relaxed and conscious -- say, in a good "listening mood" -- I find that I have a better chance to review my life rationally.

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Clear Feedback
I have a saying in my head that I use to note important observations -- Clear Feedback. In my personal review I considered the following bits of Clear Feedback as they related to my goal of winning Ironman Canada:

***Personal Bests
***Greater than 10% underperformance at a race, or race component
***Number of days lost due to unexpected fatigue, illness or injury
***Injuries that require extended time off and/or medical treatment
***Immune system warning signals
***Greater than 5% movement in body weight

When I think through the above, the feedback that I received over the last eight months is that I am heading the right direction and that my key risk areas remain the same. I sense that I've made all these big changes -- but -- my core essence has stayed exactly the same. Still, the pattern of Clear Feedback is encouraging. My answers...

***Yes, quite a few
***Yes, bike leg in Desert Triathlon after run camp
***Since end of September, about 50% of 'normal' -- still want to improve consistency -- all fatigue related except for a two day break due to a sprained ankle -- interestingly, I have the reputation for monster training -- if I smooth my average weekly training volume across my overtrained periods then I could have done the same "lifetime" training with a lot less immune stress on myself. de Castella makes this point -- it's probably even more important as a runner due to the pounding that sports places on our bodies.
***None
***None
***I've had stable weight for the longest period of my adult life (over two years -- while training and while resting). Stable, rather than lean, seems to be the goal that works well for me. When I target "lean" I end up too light then rebound 10-20% following competition. Losing the last 2-3 pounds is highly costly!

Items #4 and #5 can offer an athlete Clear Feedback that the pathway to deeper success is less, rather than more. The massive level of commitment for high-level success can leave us blind during the periods where we can benefit from a more relaxed approach.

Remember that our minds will always search for an EXTERNAL cause of the challenges that we face. Individuals that are able to make continual progress adjust their INTERNAL responses to external variables.

When I ask questions of my self/athletes/friends that are designed to help consider this point... the most common reply is absolute silence. There are very few times when we are open to considering change. Even when I have "known" that change was required, I have always tended towards trying "harder" within my existing patterns.

So far, the best method that I've found for rapid learning/change is to find mentors that excel in the areas where I am weak and follow their advice.. verbatim -- I'm not exactly transcending my limiters but it is effective in generating results.

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Long Rides
The Lads were asking me what I shoot for on my long rides.

What's are my goals? Here's a list:

***Start the ride with a solid long course (50m) swim -- 4,500m, building to 5,500m by the end of the summer
***Total ride duration slightly over bike split duration in Canada
***Minimal stops, flat course
***Main sets designed to address key success areas (TT ability on the flats)
***Build towards 60% of ride duration being greater than IM bike effort -- 2:15 to 2:30 of Half IM effort
***Run 10K easy off the bike then back it up with 20M long run the day after
***Do the entire thing without heart rate crossing 150 bpm -- this is the catch!

That's the Ironman Champion Weekend.

Lots of fast folks get through this weekend but their relative intensity is too high -- or they do it while drafting, telling themselves that they are doing what it takes because they are training "fast".

That's not it.

The goal is to build towards this weekend -- I have only "hit" it really well a few times in my career. I nearly always end up going easier than I outlined above. Still, I can live with my race results -- I'd rather race above my training performance!

One other point, completion of this workout is NOT what it takes to do well. The weekend is simply something that I work towards. In 2006, 8:36 in Brazil (5th) and 8:5x (3rd) in Canada -- I didn't manage to "hit" the weekend that entire year! The best that I managed were "steady" main sets -- as a result, I adjusted my IM bike pacing to match my training performance, ran great and placed well.

So 2006 was preparation for... 2007's base training... and the first five weeks of my specific prep block... so that I can absorb two blazing weekends in late July. 75+ weeks of prep for 15-16 hours of training.

Kind of a long way to say... when you are well up the road on the only sub-8:30 guy on the ride then you might want to ask yourself "why". Of course, I'm totally fine with getting dropped... ;-)

There was a fair amount of self-talk this past weekend!

Take care,
gordo

PS -- think about the best long ride that you ever had... ...Ironman doesn't feel like that.